The Untold Truth Of Doublelift

League of Legends, a MOBA by Riot Games, has been on the rise in the western world. North America and Europe have been fighting tooth and nail to win a World Championship against eastern teams. There has not been a western Worlds Tournament victory since the Worlds Season One Championship in June of 2011. Europe hoisted the gold while North American teams went home empty-handed. League of Legends has been at the top of the competitive scene for years and in that competitive scene, some of the biggest League of Legends superstars have been produced.

Yiliang Peter Peng, better known by his summoner name, Doubelift, is a North American former professional League of Legends player. Doubelift is a veteran of the competitive scene — he was there before the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) was organized. He is known for his marksman mechanics and his dominant lane aggression. Doublelift is the face of the LCS. And there is a case to be made, that he is the face of League of Legends, up there and alongside T1 Faker. 

League of Legends fans know Doublelift from his time on Counter Logic Gaming. Prior to joining CLG, the professional marksman player used to play support on Epik Gamer — a team that competed well before Riot Games began organizing the league. He swapped into the ADC (attack damage carry) role in 2012 and joined CLG. In 2013, CLG signed support player Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black, and thus, Rush Hour was born. Unfortunately, CLG did not win a title until the Summer of 2015. 

Doubelift finally picked up his first trophy in the LCS. Following the Championship victory, Doublelift made the move from CLG to TeamSoloMid (a.k.a. TSM). He would eventually reveal that he left CLG due to tension with Aphromoo, his partner. "Like, the truth is, Aphro went to the org and he said, 'It's either me or him. I'm not playing with Peter next year," he stated in his first vlog with TSM. 

Doubelift denied offers from other teams to continue playing with CLG, but unfortunately, CLG had other plans and they went separate ways.

Doublelift was a hot commodity. He didn't stay without a team very long. Andy Dihn, the CEO of TeamSoloMid, brought Doublelift onto the team, and the rest is history. Doubelift would pair up with North America's greatest mid laner, TSM Bjergsen. This continued success would lead to Doublelift being seen as the face of LCS. 

Doublelift's success also arguably raised awareness of LCS outside of the gaming industry. Rick Fox, the former Small Forward of the Los Angeles Lakers, would mention Doublelift in an interview with Gordon Hayward in 2015. The question surprised Hayward, but went a long way towards further legitimizing esports in mainstream news coverage.

Doublelift would spend the remainder of his years crossing back and forth between TSM and Team Liquid. In his time in the LCS, Doublelift would win a total of eight domestic titles, two MVPs, five All-Stars appearances, and a career total of 2,937 kills across 685 professional games.

His success was also met with tragedy. In 2019, Doublelift's 30-year-old brother was arrested in Orange County, California. He had been charged with murder after he allegedly stabbed Wei Ping Shen, his mother, to death. Yihong Peng, Yiliang's brother, allegedly attempted to murder both parents, but fortunately, Doublelift's father survived his severe injuries.

Doublelift, who was playing with the hugely-successful Team Liquid at the time, had to take some time away from social media to fully digest the tragedy. His TwitLonger post read, "I'm still processing this news and joining up with my dad and little brother to make sure they're ok and the proper arrangements are being made. I'll likely be quiet on social media while I work through this. I hope you all understand and support me as you always have in the past."

Doublelift would return to Team Liquid and aid them in securing the North American LCS Spring Split final.

Doublelift participated in his final World Championship, but the reunion between Doublelift and Bjergsen was not enough to propel TSM to international success.

Doublelift announced his retirement from the competitive scene on November 25th, 2020. It was the end of an era. The announcement came as a shock to many. It seemed as though Doublelift still had the will and ability to compete. There has been much speculation about the subject among commentators and other players in the esports community. Fans and colleagues have wondered if Doublelift retired, or if he was put into a position where it was easier to retire. 

Doublelift originally stated that he would have continued playing if TSM was able to contract a big name support player. TSM was set to bring in SwordArt, the support from Suning Gaming, but the contact seemed to fall through the cracks. Doublelift announced his retirement. Then, as it happens, the contract with SwordArt processed, but it was too late — Doublelift had retired. 

There are many questions surrounding his retirement, but fans may just have to wait for further details.